The modern dental operatory is centered on an adjustable dental chair. The dental chair has the purpose of providing the patient with a comfortable seat while at the same time allowing the dental professional to maneuver the dental chair in multiple directions to provide easier access to the patient's oral cavity. For example, a dental professional can recline, rise, lower, or spin the dental chair in order to maneuver the patient to allow the dental professional the best access to the patient's oral cavity to perform dental treatment procedures.
Although the dental chair can assist the dental professional in gaining access to the patient's oral cavity, the oral cavity is generally a small area in which it is difficult to perform dental treatment procedures. For example, dental treatment procedures usually include performing high tolerance procedures on a very small scale. Due to the high tolerances and small scale of most dental treatment procedures, dental professionals usually try to use some form of magnification to enhance their ability to perform the dental treatment procedure. The nature of the dental cavity, however, often makes it very difficult for a dental professional to use magnification tools effectively. For example, many dental professionals may use magnification lenses that may attach to a pair of conventional glasses and are hand adjustable. The magnification lenses, however, are usually heavy and are an annoyance when worn for long periods of time
In addition to the small scale of dental treatment procedures, the oral cavity is generally a dark area, which further increases the challenges associated with performing dental treatment procedures. In particular, most dental professionals now use a high-powered overhead light to flood the oral cavity with light to help the dental professional adequately see the treatment site. Although the high-powered lights help provide light within the oral cavity, many time the dental professional's hands or tools block the light, thus limiting the effectiveness of the high-powered light.
What is needed in the art are systems, devices and methods that easily allow a dental professional to light and magnify a treatment site within the oral cavity without interfering with the dental treatment procedure.